I would conjur that when Lance was being treated for Cancer they found something. A regime, a treatment a medication. Something that gave him an edge physically perhaps legal in the sport, however beating Cancer GIVES Lance an edge all by itself. When U see the bottom and know whats its like, it gives you a little extra drive, a little more bottom end. So when he needed that little extra push to win he could put it into overdrive...

Remember that Lance wasn't the only one taking and doing stuff to enhance their performance. His was just more state of the art.

One the one hand, it seems reasonable to assume Lance was doping. And perhaps he was. You'd think the odds are that he was doping. But......

He never failed a test. He was the most-tested athlete in history. This accusation has been leveled against him MANY times throughout his absolutely dominant reign as world cycling champion, and his reaction has been to submit to more testing. According to my understanding.

Also according to my understanding, Lance Armstrong is a physiological freak. It is as though God designed a body specifically for bicycle racing. His lung capacity is off the charts. The ability of his lungs (even considering their immense volume capacity) to deliver oxygen into his blood was also studied and the researchers were amazed. Then of course, his body's muscles' ability to burn that oxygen efficiently is similarly stunning. Doping might potentially enhance some of these characteristics, but not all. Some (at least some) of Lance Armstrong's physiological characteristics might have been impacted by doping. maybe. What we know with certainty is that his physiology is, independent of doping, simply and naturally beyond what we thought were the limits. As I say, he's a freak. Like the guys that can throw a baseball 100 mph. There aren't a hundred humans in America that can do that. Doping is a predictable accusation coming from athletes and teams that have been getting their asses handed to them regularly for years.

I read recently that Gary Player dropped the doping bomb on the golf world. He "knows" some players are using. As a golfer myself I can only imagine the ramifications of usage. Loss of touch, and I hit it further into the woods, what a great advantage!:D

Great point on the physiology!! Also, he had a team of MIT PHD's working on his gear. They would wind tunnel test every component of his bike, shoes, suit, seat, etc.

They even went so far as having different types of lycra (rough vs. smooth) for different parts of his body.

That guy trained harder both on the road and in the lab (wind-tunnel) than anyone. And he never tested positive (blah, blah, blah).

And supposedly all that gear was off the shelf stuff. You could buy the same bikes Armstrong rode. It'd just cost you...a lot...